I've been playing around with the Arduino world of electronics bits and pieces and decided an alarm to alert me to a full dust collector would be a worthwhile little project. The alarm uses an ultrasonic range sensor to detect the level of the sawdust in the bag. A piezo buzzer beeps when the level is within about 12" of the sensor, sounds continuously when the level is within 6". Total cost was about $5.

Here's the completed unit mounted on the dust collector in a bracket a friend 3D printed. (He works at a 3d printer company and free printing is an official fringe benefit).

I made it myself. That doesn't help much when it comes to buying one. I'm pretty sure there are commercial units from the usual sources.A simple DIY solution is to just take a micro-switch and some sort of spring-loaded pressure plate that will close the switch when the bag gets full (heavy). The switch could be connected to a buzzer or light. Doesn't take even the relatively modest electronics and programming skills it took to build the widget I made.

I have a similar unit on my Oneida cyclone collection drum. It cost way more than $5 though. The one plus side is that it turns on a flashing blue light instead of an audible alarm. That way, I can tell when it's full, even when I'm running a noisy machine.

Cheers,Tom

_________________"There is no path to peace, peace is the path."Mohandas K. Ghandi

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